Kingsley Ben Adir's 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

The best Kingsley Ben-Adir movies and TV shows reveal a career that’s on the cusp of gaining full momentum, with whatever the Bob Marley: One Love and Secret Invasion star has in his future building upon an already solid foundation. Born in London in 1986, the UK actor Kingsley Ben-Adir has been an active presence on screens since 2013 when he landed small parts in World War Z and Agatha Christie’s Marple.

While he’d go on to land roles in some UK crime dramas such as Midsomer Murders and Vera in the following years, it was when he joined the cast of Peaky Blinders in 2017 that Kingsley Ben-Adir’s career truly took off. He’s steadily been gaining acclaim ever since, and the best Kingsley Ben-Adir movies and TV shows reveal just how much potential the star truly has.

10 Noelle (2019)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Jake Hapman

2019’s Noelle, the Christmas family comedy from writer-director Mark Lawrence, may not have Kingsley Ben-Adir in the most plot-centric role (focusing instead on Anna Kendrick’s Noelle Kringle and Bill Hader’s Nick Kringle), but the actor still shines through as Jake Hapman. A recently divorced private detective, Jake is hired by Noelle to track down her father, the now-missing Santa Claus.

While Noelle does little to reinvent the family Christmas movie wheel, it ticks all the expected boxes with ease. It also stands as one of the best Kingsley Ben-Adir movies thanks to his performance, which is surprisingly emotional at points (especially when it comes to Jake’s perspective on Christmas as a divorced parent). If nothing else, Noelle proves that Kingsley Ben-Adir is more than reliable enough to take on a role in a holiday outing from a powerhouse studio like Disney.

9 King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Wet Stick

There have been dozens of feature-length adaptations of the legend of King Arthur over the years, though few are as gritty and modernized as 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Coming from British director Guy Ritchie, who is most known for gangster movies like Snatch and Rocknrolla, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword sees Charlie Hunnam take up the role of the semi-mythical monarch. Among those who joined him in the ensemble cast was Kingsley Ben-Adir as Wet Stick, AKA Sir Tristan.

While critics responded less-than-favorably to King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, it still stands as one of the strongest Kingsley Ben-Adir performances of his career so far. The 2017 movie may not have been the critical success directors like Guy Ritchie are expected to deliver, but Ben-Adir worked well with the script he was given, and managed to stand out in a cast that also includes Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, and Eric Bana as well as Charlie Hunnam.

8 Soulmates (2020)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Franklin

2020’s Soulmates is an intriguing sci-fi romance anthology series that originally aired on AMC. While it was canceled in 2023 (despite season 2 previously having been confirmed), the show managed to garner a following thanks to its unique premise and solid roster of cast members - including, in episode 1, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Franklin (co-starring alongside Sarah Snook as Franklin’s wife, Nikki).

Each episode of Soulmates is set in the near future and in the same universe, exploring the ramifications of a technology that can find someone’s perfect match with 100% scientific accuracy. Franklin’s story see’s Ben-Adir’s character trying to remain interested in his marriage despite knowing who his true soulmate really is - a nuanced and complex situation, and one that his performance does an incredible amount of justice. While Kingsley Ben-Adir only appeared in one episode of Soulmates, his time as Franklin ensures it’s still considered one of his best TV shows.

7 The Comey Rule (2020)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Barack Obama

The political drama miniseries The Comey Rule is based the book A Higher Loyalty: True, Lies, and Leadership written by former FBI director James Comey. The story is based on Comey’s own experiences during the first presidency of Donald Trump, with Jeff Daniels taking on the role of Comey alongside Brendan Gleeson as Trump.

The Comey Rule is, of course, a complex political drama that required a great deal of skill and aptitude from its cast, all of whom played real-life figures. Kingsley Ben-Adir proved himself to be one of the stand-out names in the roster thanks to his uncanny performance as Barack Obama. While some aspects of The Comey Rule were criticized, Ben-Adir’s performance wasn’t among the negatives many critics picked up on, and fans of his work should consider it a must-watch.

6 Secret Invasion (2023)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Gravik

While it’s not the best movie or TV show of his career (though still ranks highly), many viewers were first introduced to Kingsley Ben-Adir thanks to his portrayal of the renegade Skrull Gravik in the MCU Disney+ miniseries Secret Invasion. The show drew considerable attention due to its focus on Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, a fan-favorite character, and so anticipation for Secret Invasion was high by the time it arrived in 2023.

Fortunately, Kinsley Ben-Adir gave a fantastic performance as the leader of the rebel Skrull faction, creating a nemesis more than worthy of going up against Samuel L. Jackson and his beloved tough-as-nails MCU character. As well as being an intense antagonist, Gravik was also nuanced and relatable when it came to his motivations, and Ben-Adir managed to bring these sides of him to the screen with incredible ease.

5 The OA (2016-2019)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Karim Washington

The Netflix mystery-drama The OA arrived on the streaming service in 2016, lasting for two seasons. It was in season 2 that Kingsley Ben-Adir joined the cast to take on the role of Karim Washington, a private investigator. While he wasn’t in the series for that long, appearing only in 6 episodes of season 2 before The OA was canceled, it remains one of the best Kingsley Ben-Adir shows.

Not only was Kingsley Ben-Adir’s performance riveting in The OA, but the mystery series itself is incredibly gripping overall, and it’s one of several examples of Netflix shows that were canceled too early. What’s more, The OA also has clear significance when it comes to Kingsley Ben-Adir’s career trajectory, as it was following his appearance on the show that he landed many much more prominent shows like Secret Invasion and movies like Noelle (in which he also played a detective).

4 High Fidelity (2020)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Russell “Mac” McCormack

2020’s High Fidelity is a gender-swapped reimagining of the classic 1995 novel by Nick Hornby (who also wrote the likes of About A Boy) and is also partly inspired by the 2000 movie of the same name starring John Cusack. The plot focuses on record store owner Rob Brooks (Zoe Kravitz) as she narrates viewers through the highs and lows of her turbulent love life.

Kingsley Ben-Adir has a highly memorable recurring role in High Fidelity, as his character, Mac, is the most recent lover of Rob’s, and the source of her most painful heartbreak. Ben-Adir gives an outstanding performance as Mac, making the relationship (and break-up) between Mac and Rob feel highly authentic. While High Fidelity was canceled after only a single season, it was incredibly well-received by critics and still sits with an 82% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes.

3 Peaky Blinders (2013-2022)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Col. Ben Younger

Few members of the Peaky Blinders cast aren’t acclaimed or well-known names. If they weren’t already when they joined the cast of the UK period crime series, such as leading man Cillian Murphy or Tom Hardy, then they were after they appeared. The series is one of the most critically acclaimed of the 2010s and early 2020s, and still has an incredibly strong following.

The show is also significant due to being one of the most important early career appearances for Kingsley Ben-Adir. Ben-Adire may have only appeared in five episodes of Peaky Blinders, but his character Col. Ben Younger ensured they were highly memorable ones. Ben-Adir does an exceptional job from the moment he appears in season 4, and is part of some of the most exhilarating storylines of Peaky Blinders season 5.

2 One Night In Miami (2020)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Malcolm X

The competition for the top spot among the best Kingsley Ben-Adir movies and TV shows is a fiercely close one - made all the closer by the fact that, in both, he is playing incredibly well-known historical figures. One of these titles is the 2020 drama from director Regina King, which sees Kingsley Ben-Adir playing civil rights activist Malcolm X during a fictionalized meeting with Muhammad Ali, Jim Browne, and Sam Cooke.

The role brought Kinglsey-Ben-Adir the most awards of any project he’s been involved with so far. These include winning the Breakthrough Actor category at the Gotham Awards, and a Satellite Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Had One Night In Miami had the global success of the absolute best Kingsley Ben-Adir movie, it would likely have taken the top spot.

1 Bob Marley: One Love (2024)

Kingsley Ben-Adir Plays Bob Marley

The best Kingsley Ben-Adir movie is Bob Marley: One Love, the 2024 biographical drama from director Reinaldo Marcus Green. Ben-Adir leads the cast as the titular reggae icon, bringing the highs and lows from his rise to fame until the point of his death to the screen with an incredible amount of care and authenticity.

While the narrative of Bob Marley: One Love was picked up on as sub-par by many critics, all praised the performance of Ben-Adir in the leading role. It remains a highly entertaining viewing experience and an incredible tribute to the great musician Bob Marley and the legacy he left behind. What’s more, it’s inarguably the strongest performance of Kingsley Ben-Adir’s career so far, and its place as his best movie or TV show is incredibly difficult to dispute.